MrC,
I'm very new at R/C boats and I'm too impressed for words at what you've accomplished so far. I gotta tel ya, I know that's gona be one SWEET looking boat when your finished!!!
For the record, your stepdad may have done you a favor by messng up your first pipe. The second one, IMHO, looks much better.
Did you ever figure out the steering connection?
I'm really loking forward to following this build to the end.
Dave